Arteriosclerosis is the name of a group of diseases of the circulatory system that are characterized by hardening of the walls and the narrowing of the lumen (or opening) of an artery. In one form of arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, fatty streaks of plaque form on the inner walls of the artery. As the plaque accumulates and the streaks grow, the plaque deposits 2 begin to occlude the lumen 4 of the artery 6, as shown in FIG. 1. In time, the plaque deposits 2 may completely, or almost completely, occlude the lumen 4 of the artery 6, as shown in FIG. 2.
Arteries distribute oxygen-rich blood from the heart to cells of the body. The blood delivers oxygen to the cells and removes metabolic waste from the cells. Arteriosclerosis increases resistance to blood flow in the body because of the narrowed lumen and the hardened walls of the artery. The reduced blood flow causes cells served by the artery to be starved of oxygen and to experience an accumulation of toxic metabolic waste. The resistance to blood flow also causes blood pressure to increase, which may cause the heart to work harder to pump blood and, consequently, enlarge. Such a condition may lead to heart disease and heart failure.
Arteriosclerosis is treated by balloon angioplasty or coronary bypass surgery. In balloon angioplasty, a surgeon makes a small incision in a patient's groin area and inserts a balloon-tipped catheter into the patient's femoral artery. The balloon-tipped catheter is then advanced into the patient's heart and from there to the location of the occluded artery. The balloon is then repeatedly inflated and deflated, which causes the artery to expand and contract, until the surgeon determines that blood flow through the occluded artery has improved. The balloon-tipped catheter is then removed. In some cases, a cylindrical wire mesh, or "stent", is inserted in the artery after repeated inflation of the balloon to hold the artery open. Balloon angioplasty has become a routine surgical procedure. The recurrence rate of arteriosclerosis in patients that have undergone balloon angioplasty is high.
In coronary bypass surgery, veins from the patient's legs or other blood vessels are removed and used to replace the occluded portion of the artery. A surgeon opens the chest cavity by splitting the breastbone to access the heart and occluded artery. The vein that was removed from the patient is then attached at one end to the patient's aorta and at the other end to the blocked artery beyond the point of the occlusion. Consequently, the blood is allowed to bypass the occlusion in the artery.
When charged particles, such as electrolytes in blood (such as ions of sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium), pass through a magnetic field they generate an electric current in the blood that heats the blood and causes blood vessels to expand. Further, the magnetic field causes the positive ions in the blood to deflect in one direction and the negative ions to deflect in the opposite direction. The resulting criss-crossing creates turbulence and eddy currents in the blood flow.
Magnets are also used to prevent the build-up of deposits on the inner surface of water pipes.